This invention relates to a waterproof ring for a connector housing of the threaded connection type used, for example, for connecting automotive wiring.
The U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,190 discloses a conventional connector housing of the threaded connection type. Referring to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a seal electrical connector, which is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,684,190, for use in, for example, a vehicle to connect an electrical engine harness with an electrical instrument harness through an aperture 1 in a bulkhead 2, with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3. The bulkhead 2 is used to separate the engine compartment, on the right hand side of the bulkhead, from the passenger compartment on the left hand side of the bulkhead with reference to these figures.
The electrical connector with sliding shroud assembly includes a male connector 10 and mating female connector 11, each of which has an inboard end thereof slidably received in a shroud 12.
Both of the male and female connectors 10 and 11, respectively, are provided with longitudinally extending apertures to receive a set of mating terminals 16 and 17, each of which is fixed to an electrical cable 16a and 17a, respectively, extending outward from the respective connectors, only one set of such terminals and cables being shown. Lock combs 18 and 18' are used to axially retain the terminals in their respective connectors.
A bolt 20, with an O-ring seal 21, extends through a bolt aperture 22 in the male connector 10 and is held captive therein by a bolt retainer 23, the threaded end of the bolt being adapted to be threaded into a T-nut 24 mounted in a nut receiving stepped aperture 25 provided for this purpose in the female connector 11.
The disclosed connector housing of the threaded type, however, suffers from problems in that, for example, it is likely to be broken due to an excessive tightening of the bolt 20. Also, the O-ring 21 provided for the water-proof property is subjected to torsion due to the friction between the O-ring 21 and the head of bolt 20. Further, the O-ring 21 is likely to be broken due to the excessive tightening of the bolt 20.
The present inventors Takenochi, et al. investigated the problem and invented threaded connection type connector housings shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 in order to reduce the abovementioned problem in the threaded connection type connector housing.
The present invention was made to improve the connector housings shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. Therefore, the connector housings shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 will be described in detail in this background section for the purpose of clearly understanding the present invention.
FIG. 4 shows the threaded connection type connector housing, which is not a prior art of the present invention. A connector housing A is adapted to be fixedly secured to a panel P of a vehicle body, and has a nut Al at its central portion. A detachable connector housing B has at its central portion a bolt B1 used for fittingly connecting the two connector housings A and B or for disconnecting them from each other.
In the connector housing B, a waterproof O-ring 103 is provided between an outer detachable member 101 (through which the bolt B1 extends) and a head 102 of the bolt B1. The O-ring 103 is subjected to torsion due to the friction between the O-ring 103 and the bolt head 102, which results in a drawback that the seal between the bolt B1 and the connector housing B is adversely affected.
On the other hand, in the connector housing of the threaded connection type, in order to avoid breakage of the connector housing due to an excessive tightening of the bolt, a narrower non-threaded portion 105 extending from an externally-threaded portion 104 is formed on the bolt B1. When the pair of connector housings are fittingly connected together completely, the threaded engagement of the externally-threaded portion 104 with the nut Al is released (see FIG. 4). In order that the externally-threaded portion 104 in a non-threaded condition can be brought into threaded engagement with the nut Al when the bolt B1 is rotated in a reverse direction so as to disconnect the connector housings from each other, a seal washer 106' and a pair of disk springs 106 are interposed between the head 102 of the bolt B1 and the connector housing B, thereby normally urging the bolt B1 in a direction of arrow X, as shown in FIG. 5.
However, this construction has a disadvantage that much time and labor are required for the connecting operation since the number of the component parts is large.